Jack Black Biography

April 7, 1969
•
Santa Monica, California

Actor, singer, musician

Black, Jack.

AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.

Jack Black is a one-man dynamo—a manic, scruffy ball of energy who
has quietly been shaking up the entertainment world for years. Acting
steadily since the mid-1990s, Black usually took on smaller roles that
were usually quirky, but always unforgettable. He also became one-half of
a comedy rock duo called Tenacious D, which played regularly in small
comedy clubs in California. As a result, Black developed a cult following
of fans, who watched and waited for him to break out as a star. In 2003
fans got their wish, when Black skidded onto the screen as
rocker-turned-teacher Dewey Finn in the blockbuster
School of Rock.
Almost overnight, Jack Black became a household name.

Product of rocket science

Jack Black was born April 7, 1969, in Santa Monica, California, to Tom and
Judy Black, both satellite engineers. In a 2003
Newsweek
interview with Devin Gordon, Black admitted it was ironic that both
his parents were rocket scientists. He also put a Jack Black spin on the
situation: "They're rocket scientists. I'm a rock
scientist."

While Black was growing up his parents fought constantly, which finally
led them to divorce when he was ten years old. The separation had a
profound effect on Black. In search of attention, he turned to acting.
Black appeared in his first television commercial, for Atari, when he was
thirteen. "I knew that if my friends saw me on TV, it would be the
answer to all my prayers," he told Gordon, "because ...
everyone would know I was awesome. And I was awesome—for three
days. Then it wore off. But it gave me the hunger." Black followed
his Atari commercial with a Smurfberry Crunch ad, which he admitted
wasn't nearly as cool.

After divorcing Judy Black, Tom Black moved out of the country and started
a new family. Feeling abandoned, Jack became moody and started to act out.
He turned to drugs and began stealing money from his mother. A frustrated
Judy sent the boy to an alternative school in Culver City, California,
where therapy was part of the curriculum. While there, Black was
encouraged by one of his teachers to channel his energy through acting.
After getting back on track, Black transferred to a private school called
Crossroads in Santa Monica. After graduating in 1987, he enrolled at the
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

"There's a little bit of acting in my music, and
there's always a little music in my acting, so it's kind
of like the peanut butter cups: 'You've got your chocolate
in my peanut butter.'"

More than a Belushi clone

In 1989 Black left UCLA to join The Actors' Gang, a Los
Angeles-based acting troupe co-founded in 1981 by Tim Robbins
(1959–). At
the time, Robbins was best known for his performance as the rookie
pitcher in
Bull Durham
(1989), but he was also about to break out as a director. In 1992 Robbins
directed his first movie,
Bob Roberts,
and he cast Black in his first film role, as a crazed fan. Their
collaboration would continue throughout the 1990s, with Black appearing in
two more movies directed by Robbins:
Dead Man Walking
(1995) and
Cradle Will Rock
(1999).

Will Ferrell: Partner in Comedy

It seems that everywhere Jack Black goes, Will Ferrell is not too far
behind. In 2003, according to
Entertainment Weekly
's annual list of top entertainers, Black had the dubious
distinction of sharing the title of favorite Hollywood class clown with
Ferrell. At the 2004 Academy Awards, the two cracked up viewers when
they shared a microphone and sang the "get off the stage"
song. And in April of 2004, it was announced that Black and Ferrell were
slated to star in an upcoming comedy about two Los Angeles. motorcycle
cops. The two have been so closely linked that many people often wonder
who is funnier—Black or Ferrell?

Best known for the many characters he created on the long-running
television series
Saturday Night Live (SNL),
Will Ferrell was born on July 16, 1968, in Irvine, California. He began
his impersonations in high school when he was in charge of broadcasting
the daily announcements. Ferrell graduated from the University of
Southern California with a degree in sports journalism, and worked
briefly as a sports announcer. At the same time, he performed stand-up
comedy at local clubs and coffee houses. When he realized he preferred
comedy, Ferrell began taking workshops at a local community college. He
soon joined The Groundlings, an Los Angeles-based comedy improv group.
It was while working with The Groundlings that he was discovered for
Saturday Night Live.

Ferrell appeared on
Saturday Night Live
from 1995 to 2002, and is known for creating such memorable characters
as Craig the Spartan cheerleader, and for his uncanny impersonations of
famous persons such as President George W. Bush (1946–).
Ferrell's movie career began during his stint on
Saturday Night Live.
His movie titles include
A Night at the Roxbury
(1998), featuring his
SNL
club-hopping character Steve Butabi,
Zoolander
(2001), and
Old School
(2003).

In 2003 Ferrell had his first starring role playing a
six-foot-three-inch, yellow-tight-wearing Christmas gnome in the movie
Elf.
Ferrell gave Black a run for his money at the box office when
Elf
proved to be a surprise hit, bringing in $150 million dollars. As a
result Ferrell, like Black, seemed to have his pick of roles. He
followed
Elf
with the movie
Anchorman
(2004), and signed on to appear in a film by famous director Woody
Allen (1935–). He was also chosen to star in the movie
A Confederacy of Dunces,
based on a novel by American author John Kennedy O'Toole
(1937–1967). Jack Black had also been considered for the role.

In addition to appearing in Robbins-directed films, Black accumulated a
number of other movie credits, usually playing the wacky
best friend, as he did in
The Cable Guy
(1996) or
Bongwater
(1998). Black also took bit parts on such television shows as
Life Goes On, Northern Exposure,
and
The X-Files.
He was definitely starting to get noticed, especially by critics, who
often compared him to the comedian John Belushi (1949–1982), who
first gained fame on the late-night comedy series
Saturday Night Live.

On the surface, the comparison was easy to see. At five-foot seven inches
tall and weighing about two hundred pounds, Black, like Belushi, is short
and stocky. He also shares the same wild-eyed look, devilish grin, and
animated eyebrows. But it was also clear that Black was not a Belushi
clone; he was an actor who brought a unique talent to his many roles. That
talent became apparent when he appeared in
High Fidelity
(2000), a movie based on the novel by popular English author Nick Hornby
(1957–) and starring John Cusack (1966–). Cusack, a friend
of Black's since their Actors' Gang days, suggested Black
for the movie.

Although
High Fidelity
starred John Cusack as record store owner Rob Gordon, the main draw of
the movie was Jack Black, who played Barry, the obnoxious record store
clerk with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of all things vinyl. Barry
does little actual work. Instead, he and a fellow clerk spend most of
their time making fun of customers and quizzing each other on music
trivia. The record store scenes highlight Black's whip-smart acting
abilities, but the real treat takes place at the end of the film. Barry,
who has hinted about his singing aspirations throughout the movie, takes
the stage and steals the show by belting out a classic tune by American
R&B singer Marvin Gaye (1939–1984).

Half of a tenacious duo

For those who have followed Black's career, it was not surprising
that he took so easily to the microphone in
High Fidelity.
Since 1994, in addition to being an actor, Black has also been part of a
rock band known as Tenacious D. Black formed the two-man group with Kyle
Gass, whom he met while performing with The Actors' Gang. In a
People
interview with Jason Lynch, Black confided that at first he and Gass were
"archenemies," but that eventually they worked out their
differences and soon were spending a lot of time in Gass's
apartment, writing
songs, playing music, and dreaming about forming a band. They named their
group Tenacious D, which stands for "tenacious defense," a
term regularly used by sports announcer Marv Albert (1944–).

The D (as the group is referred to by its fans) started out as a regular
band, but Black and Gass quickly realized that their strength was in
parody. This means that they poke fun at anything that comes their way,
including heavy metal rockers who take themselves too seriously and the
music industry in general. Essentially they are heavy metal comedians: two
middle-aged, overweight men who tear up the stage like veteran rock stars.
According to Cusack, who spoke with reporter Michael Salkind of the
Colorado Springs Gazette
in 2000, Tenacious D is "one of the six or seven wonders of the
world."

The band drew such a following at local Los Angeles area clubs that the
rock duo was soon featured in short spots on the Home Box Office (HBO)
show,
Mr. Show with Bob and David.
This led to an appearance in the 1995 movie
Bio-Dome
and a half-hour series in 1999 on HBO called
Tenacious D: The Greatest Band on Earth.

Black and White

Following his talented turn in
High Fidelity,
Black got his first taste as a leading man while playing opposite
Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow (1973–) in the comedy
Shallow Hal
(2001). The movie's premise is that Black's character, the
superficial Hal Larson, pursues only gorgeous women. During a chance
meeting with self-help guru Tony Robbins, Larson is hypnotized so that he
is able to see a woman's inner beauty. As a result, he stuns his
friends by falling for a 300-pound woman. Critics generally panned the
weak comedy, and most felt that Black was miscast as the cynical Larson.
On the other hand, it was a turning point in his career, since it was
evident that Black felt comfortable as a leading man. Roger Ebert, film
critic for the
Chicago Sun-Times,
commented that "in his first big-time starring role, [Black]
struts through with the blissful confidence of a man who knows he was born
for stardom."

In 2002 Black briefly slipped back into co-star status when he appeared as
Lance, the deadbeat brother, in the offbeat comedy
Orange County.
Again, the movie received lackluster reviews, but
critics, including Ebert, were wowed by Black's performance. The
film was also important for Black because he formed a partnership with the
movie's writer that would change his career.

Orange County
was written by Mike White (1970–), a pal of Black's who
lived next door to him in Hollywood from 1997 to 2000. White, too, was on
the verge of making it big. He had written for the popular television
shows
Freaks and Geeks
and
Dawson's Creek,
and he had penned the movies
Chuck and Buck
(2000) and
The Good Girl
(2002). Black admitted to Steven Daly of
Entertainment Weekly
that he was "obsessed" with White's quirky style of
writing, so he approached his friend about writing a movie specifically
for him. He was tired of being offered frat boy Belushi-type roles and
wanted something that would showcase his talents. White was up for the
challenge, and spent five months designing a custom-made role for Black
and crafting a script. The character he developed was Dewey Finn; the
movie was
School of Rock
(2003).

School Daze

In
School of Rock,
Black plays Dewey Finn, a down-on-his-luck guitarist and singer who scams
his way into becoming a substitute teacher at a posh New York prep school.
The scruffy musician has his own unique way of teaching. For homework, he
hands out CDs so that his students can study the history of rock, and
their daily lessons focus on creating what he calls "musical
fusion." Ultimately Finn and his fifth graders form their own
group, the School of Rock, and they compete in a citywide battle of the
bands. But of course the point is not about winning the contest. As
Freddy, the band's ten-year-old drummer explained,
"We're on a mission. One great rock show can change the
world."

The character of Dewey Finn is everything about Black all rolled into one:
he has Black's abundant energy, his love of rock and roll, his
musical talent, and his frantic personality. As Black explained to Edna
Gundersen in
USA Today,
he "scientifically figured [Dewey Finn] is 92% me. There's
8% that's not me." In the same article, however, film writer
White was quick to point out that Finn is not a Xerox copy of Black.
"Jack is a conscientious professional who takes his job seriously,
and he isn't bouncing off the walls 24/7."

Jack Black poses with his young co-stars at the Hollywood premiere
of
School of Rock
.

AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.

School of Rock
brought in more than $20 million at the box office when it opened in
October of 2003. The movie drew praise for writer White, who also
costarred as Finn's uptight roommate, Ned Schneebly. Director
Richard Linklater (1961–) also earned kudos for the project.
Linklater, who directed 1993's
Dazed and Confused,
is a dedicated rock buff; he painstakingly made sure that all music
references in the movie were accurate. In addition, it was
Linklater's idea to cast children who were musicians as Dewey
Finn's students. All the kids in the movie sing and play their own
instruments.

Goblets of praise

Without a doubt, however,
School of Rock
was Jack Black's movie. It established him as a certified star,
and critics, to quote Dan Snierson in
Entertainment Weekly,
raised "goblets of gush" in his honor. Black
even received a Golden Globe nomination as best leading actor in a
musical or comedy. Golden Globes are awarded each year by members of the
Hollywood Foreign Press for outstanding achievement in film and
television.

Following the movie's release, Black went on a nonstop whirl of
interviews, appearing on every program from
Good Morning America
to the
Tonight Show.
In interviews he gave a glimpse into his personal life, making it clear
that he is not the party animal that people perceive him to be. In fact,
White explained to Gordon that in all the years he lived next door to his
portly pal, they never had a single party. Instead, Black spends as much
time as he can with his longtime girlfriend, actress and writer Laura
Kightlinger. He is a self-proclaimed hermit, whose favorite pastimes
include sleeping late, all-night movie marathons, and playing video games
on his Xbox.

Given his white-hot status, however, there is not much time for Black to
relax. In 2004 he appeared in
Envy
with Ben Stiller (1966–), and then lent his voice to the animated
film
Shark Tale
. He was also tapped by English director Peter Jackson (1961–) to
star in a remake of
King Kong.
Black especially hoped his newfound clout would spark interest in his own
pet project, a script called
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny.
When asked by Daly what might be next on his plate, Black replied as only
he can, "I'll probably have to do something stretchy. After
the D-movie, of course. But then? Stretcha-letcha ding-dong."